Date: Fri, 06 Oct 2000 17:30:44 CDT
From: Colleen Hasiuk
Subject: Tears In Your Eyes Chapter 16
**********
DISCLAIMER: This story is not real. I don't know *NSync, nor do I know
their sexual preferences. If you believe that one of them is gonna marry
you someday, why are you here? If you are too young to read this (not me
anymore!), why are you here? And if you're homophobic, WHY ARE YOU HERE?
If you are any of the abovementioned things, please go away. Everyone else,
enjoy!
Thanks go out to the nsyncslash list, as well as Scott, Joey, and the DOZEN
or so people who e-mailed me. Thanks to each and every one of you!
Feedback to reader_colleen@hotmail.com, please.
The chapter title comes from a song by Everclear.
**********
Chapter 16: Promises Mean Everything
%%%%RECAP%%%%%
"What did you do to him?" Nick yelled at AJ.
"NOTHING!"
"Bullshit!" Lance yelled back. "You tried to fucking rape him,
asshole!"
"Prove it!"
"Oh, I can prove it," Lance said coldly. "We can all prove you
raped both me and JC. And we can prove that you just tried to rape
Justin."
"You can't prove anything."
"Yes, they can," Howie spoke up. "I can prove it, too."
%%%%%END RECAP%%%%%
Everyone looked at Howie in shock. He let go of Joey and moved
slightly away, just in case Joey decided to get violent on him.
"How?" Joey managed to get out, shrugging off Brian's hands. Howie
studied the floor briefly while AJ's face got whiter and whiter. He saw
where this was going, even if no one else did.
"JC called me while... this was going on. I heard them, and the
whole thing is on tape. I... I..." Howie paused long enough to take a deep
breath, steeling himself. "I knew that he was doing this to you guys."
"WHAT?" Eight voices yelled at once. To their credit, the two
police officers remained silent, taking notes.
"He was the only one of us that couldn't account for where he was a
lot of the time we were with you," Howie admitted. "So when Lance was
raped last week, I became certain it was him. I confronted him about it,
and he admitted it to me, without any hint of remorse at all. That was the
day in the hospital, when we came back from chasing each other around the
hospital- I tried to kill him for what he was doing. He just laughed at
me"
"Why didn't you stop him?" Justin demanded angrily.
"What was I going to do?" Howie shot back. "No-one would have
believed me without solid proof! So I got some outside help-nobody knows
names, just the fact that we needed surveillence. All of our cell phones
were 'bugged' so that the frequencies could be monitored, and the hotel
room phones were hooked up to tape machines. Plus there was a bodyguard
stationed in the room on the other side of this one, just in case."
"You did all of this for us, Howie?" Joey asked, amazed. Howie
nodded briefly, still looking down at the floor in case anyone was mad.
Lance got rid of his fear by hugging him impulsively. He was ticked
because Howie knew in advance, but he was grateful for the older man's help
at the same time.
"We'll want the tapes, of course," the first policeman said. Nick
nodded and gave the second policeman Howie's room number. He nodded
shortly and left the room with Howie in tow in order to retrieve the tape.
Meanwhile, the paramedic finished her examination of JC and looked over at
the rest of the room.
"Shock, most likely," she said simply. "The stress of having this
happen sent him into shock."
"But there was no physical entry?" Kevin asked, tossing a glare
over at AJ, which the paramedic ignored as she shook her head.
"Not that I can find. If we get him to a hospital, I can ask that
more tests be done. Oh, and what happened to his wrists?"
"No, Josh hates hospitals," Justin protested quickly. "If you
can't find anything, leave it at that and let him live in peace. And he
had an... accident." The woman frowned, obviously putting two and two
together in her head. The first policeman suddenly returned -minus Howie-
and nodded to his partner.
"We'll want to take statements now," the policeman said. "We have
evidence, but you guys will still need to come down to the station with
us."
"And leave Josh like this?" Justin asked.
"Well, he poses a problem. He's one of the two that actually WERE
raped, correct?" Lance nodded. "We'll need his statment above all others,
except yours," he said, turning to Lance. "And yours, too." This time, he
indicated Justin.
"Can we do them here?" Joey asked, pulling Lance to him and simply
holding the younger man. Lance snuggled in, taking comfort in his
boyfriend's warmth. It wasn't often they could show affection to each
other publicly, but they figured the policemen would keep their mouths shut
about the whole thing.
"I suppose..." one said slowly, looking at his partner for
confirmation.
"Please, it will make all of this a LOT easier," Lance said. "We
won't have to move Josh if we do them here." The policeman nodded finally.
"We'll get the equipment we need. We'll be back in about an hour
to take those statements." The first policeman glanced over at the second
and he nodded.
"We're ready." AJ was duly arrested and taken away, leaving a
shocked group behind. Howie wandered in during the silence and joined
Justin, Nick and JC on the bed. Justin held JC in his arms, his face
buried in JC's hair as he sniffled slightly but didn't actually let tears
fall. The others just sat silently, in shock. Lance was shaking, but he
wasn't crying. Joey looked lost, but whether it was because of the recent
events or his boyfriend's breaking down, it wasn't clear. Chris was
studying the wall. Brian and Kevin were glaring at the door for reasons
unknown to the rest. Howie was nervously twisting the bedspread in his
fingers. Nick was stroking Justin's hair, offering his friend silent
comfort.
"AJ?" Brian asked, disbelieving. The others looks equally shocked
and confused. "AJ?" Lance nodded and Joey simply held him tighter,
comforting his boyfriend. "I can't believe it was AJ," Brian repeated.
"I can," Chris said bitterly, looking away from the wall.
"How?"
"Have you ever heard him talk about gay people?" he asked. Most of
the room nodded. "We should have realized once we found out about the
rapes who it was. Which other one of you was so homophobic?"
"That, and how could we have missed the fact that he was almost
never around when the two groups met up?" Kevin said quietly. "How STUPID
could I be?"
"Kev, don't beat yourself up!" Lance exclaimed. "It was easy to
miss when you didn't know what you were looking for. It was all such a
mess."
"Well, it's over now," Kevin said firmly. "He won't hurt either
you or Josh again."
"But there's still a long way to go before we're anywhere NEAR over
this."
"We should probably talk to someone, too," Howie spoke up. "After
all, most of us just found out that one of the people we THOUGHT we could
trust was raping two other good friends, and attempted to rape a third."
Kevin nodded at Howie's words.
"Makes sense to me," Kevin said. Nick and Brian nodded. "I'll
talk to management tomorrow morning, when we've all recovered a bit."
"I guess I should, too. We're gonna have to postpone any public
appearances for a while," Lance said.
"For a LONG whle," Chris said. "Things like this aren't easy to
get over, even for those not directly involved."
"I wish I could take JoBeth with us on tour, so at least we
wouldn't be letting the fans down," Lance said, half to himself.
"Lance, stop it!" Joey ordered. "Never mind the fans- think about
yourself first for once. We are cancelling. No regrets. Comprende?"
Lance blushed.
"Yeah, I comprende."
"No offense, guys, but can we be alone?" Justin asked suddenly,
holding JC closer to his body. The guys from Backstreet all nodded
understandingly and filed out, one by one. When it was just *NSync left,
Justin and Lance finally broke down. Joey held Lance while Chris put his
arms around both Justin and JC, because Justin refused to let go of JC long
enough to cry. After about five minutes, Chris slowly let go.
"I'm heading back to my room to get my stuff," he said.
"Hunh?" Joey asked.
"I'm staying here tonight. JC and Justin need us." Joey and Lance
both nodded and followed Chris out the door. Five minutes later, all three
were back, each with his own bag of stuff. Chris dumped his stuff on the
floor while Lance opened the connecting door between his room and JC's,
allowing easy access. It was decided that Joey and Chris would stay in
Lance and Joey's room while Lance stayed in JC's room, since he was the one
that understood what had happened the best.
"So, what do we do?" Chris asked as he came back in JC's room.
"We wait," Joey responded, following.
"How is he?" Justin looked down at his silent friend.
"Still in shock," Justin said simply.
"It'll probably take a while for Josh to come around," Chris said.
"It's better that we let him sleep this off."
"I'm awake," JC's voice said. Justin looked down.
"How you feeling?"
"How do you THINK?" Instantly, JC's face twisted. "I'm sorry,
JuJube..."
"Josh, don't worry about it. I know how hard it is," Justin
soothed. JC just nodded and cuddled closer, causing Lance to give them
both a 'look'. Justin just looked back, confused. Realizing he was
caught, Lance looked away. Justin frowned.
"What?" he demanded. Lance shook his head in a 'never mind'
gesture and Justin frowned again.
Knock, knock, went the door in the next room. Joey went through
the connecting door to open it and came back with the two policemen from
earlier in tow.
"How are we all doing?" the first one asked. "Sorry we didn't
introduce ourselves earlier. "I'm Sargent McAvern and this is my partner,
Detective Ali."
"Hello," came five responses.
"So, who wants to start?" the Sargent asked.
"What do you need?" Lance asked.
"Well, what exactly happened? We already have AJ's version, so we
need yours." Lance snorted.
"I can imagine what he told you..."
"Lance!" Joey snapped. "Stop."
"Sorry," Lance said, sitting down next to his boyfriend.
"I guess I'll start," Justin said. "After I'm done, Lance and JC
here can tell you the rest. They're the ones who need this the most."
"And you might want to talk to their therapist, JoBeth," Chris
suddenly remembered. "She knows more than we do."
"Not much more, actually," Lance said. "I'm not really sure what
Josh has told her, but I know I haven't really gone into detail with her."
"Well you'll need to tell us every little detail," Detective Ali
said. "We need to know these things so we can properly charge him."
"That could take a while," Lance sighed. Five hours later, they
were finally finished. JC and Justin sat side-by-side on the bed, Joey and
Lance sat on the desk while Chris was in a chair. The two officers closed
their notebooks with identical sighs.
"That's quite a story," Detective Ali said. "Do you have any
physical proof that any of this happened?"
"Other than the fact that Lance was admitted to the hospital last
week, Justin looks like he's boxed one too many opponents and Josh STILL
has small bandages on his wrists?" Joey half-yelled. Lance put a
restraining hand on his leg, silently calming the older man.
"Yes," Sargent McAvern said simply. All five shook their heads.
"Not that we can think of. He was always pretty careful," Lance
finally said. JC nodded silently, not trusting his voice.
"Well, even if we don't get him for raping you two, he's still on
the hook for assault, as well as two counts of attempted rape, I think."
"Did he admit to those?"
"I think it was pretty obvious when we walked in what had
happened," the detective said. "Plus, the tape we got from Howie's room
gives us some pretty solid proof about what he did." JC and Justin both
blanched slightly as the man continued talking. "We see a lot of these
types of cases, actually."
"Now that's a sad statement," Chris said softly.
"Tell us about it. Now, is there anything else you need to say
before we leave?" All five shook their heads, so the two policemen shook
hands with everyone and left. The remaining men just sat in JC's room,
staring at each other for a while. Suddenly, JC's stomach growled, causing
everyone to laugh. That broke up the tension a little.
"Well, I guess that says everything," Justin snickered. JC leaned
over and punched him lightly. "You got me!" Justin wailed, carrying on as
though he were seriously hurt. JC just smiled and headed for the shower.
Joey and Lance went back to their room, while Chris and Justin turned on
the TV and started flipping through the channels. Half an hour later, they
were all ready, so they headed downstairs.
"That has to be a new record," Lance muttered to Joey on the way
down.
"What do you mean?"
"We were all ready in under half an hour! Even Justin with that
fro was done before I was!"
"DON'T DISS THE FRO!" Justin yelled across the elevator. Lance
just grinned and hid behind Joey. Justin snorted and turned back to Chris,
who was in the midst of telling him a joke. JC just watched them with a
smile.
"What do we feel like?" Joey asked once everyone was assembled in
the lobby.
"FOOD!" Justin yelled, picking JC up and tossing him over one
shoulder. JC squirmed slightly, but Justin was strong for someone his
size.
"JUSTIN, PUT ME DOWN!" JC finally bellered, drawing stares from
several hotel guests. JC's face went bright red with embarrassment.
"Sorry, Josh," Justin laughed, complying.
"Hard Rock?" JC suggested to Joey, glaring at Justin.
"Josh, you *always* want Hard Rock!" Chris complained.
"Well you guys always want McDonald's, so we're even!" JC shot
back.
"Pizza Hut!" Lance exclaimed, pointing to one right across from the
hotel. He took off before anyone could argue, so that's where they ended
up for dinner. Two hours later, they returned to the hotel and headed back
to JC's room. They all settled in to watch a movie.
"I want to see The Haunting," said Joey. "The original, not the
new one."
"A horror movie on tonight of all nights?" Lance said. "Joey!"
"It's OK," JC said. "I've seen it already and it's pretty cool."
"Who's in the new one, anyway?" Lance asked.
"Catherine Zeta-Jones," JC started.
"FOX!" Chris and Joey yelled, much to the amusement of Lance.
"Something you want to tell me, sweetie?" he said to Joey, who
proceeded to turn redder than he ever had before.
"Nope," he got out before Lance broke down into laughter at the
look on his boyfriend's face. It was sure nice to laugh after the events
of the day.
"Who else is in it?" Justin asked, drawing everyone's conversation
back to the movie.
"Liam Neeson," JC supplied.
"Ewan McGregor!" Lance yelled. Joey raised an eyebrow.
"He said L-I-A-M, not E-W-A-N," Joey teased.
"Ewan is a HOTTIE!" Lance shot back. Joey groaned.
"Josh, I'm going to kill you for introducing him to your Star Wars
obsession," Joey threatened. JC laughed.
"I've created a monster," JC said to the others, shaking his head.
"It's alive! ALIVE!"
"Stop it!" Chris laughed. "Joey's created the monster, not you..."
"Really?" Joey was baiting Chris, but the older man didn't see the
trap.
"But it's a different type of monster than yours, Josh... whoops!"
he exclaimed, realizing what he had said. The other four just looked at
him, eyebrows raised. "I'm gonna go stick my head in the toilet now,"
Chris sighed, going into the bathroom. The others waited silently for him
to come back. Sure enough, when he did, his hair was soaking wet. Once
the giggles died down, all five of them settled in to watch the movie.
"Josh?" Justin whispered as he and JC lay together on the bed.
"Yeah?"
"Will you hold me if I get scared?" JC laughed softly, remembering
Justin's fears. He *hated* horror movies and almost always had nightmares
after one. It was kind of cute, unless you were the one trying to convince
him the nightmare wasn't real.
"I promise," JC said softly. Once Justin was satisfied, they got
comfortable and lost themselves in the movie. Only once did Justin cringe
back and hide his face in JC's shirt, so he knew the nightmares probably
wouldn't come tonight. Unless the nightmares were for a different reason,
but JC didn't even want to think about those! Once the movie was finished,
four of the five stretched and looked around. JC had fallen asleep at some
point towards the end, cradled in Justin's arms.
"We should get to bed," Joey said with a yawn.
"I guess," Chris agreed, heading for Lance and Joey's room. Joey
leaned down and kissed his boyfriend before following. In JC's room,
Justin and Lance got ready for bed. Lance finished getting changed and
gently took JC from Justin so the younger man could get ready.
"Thanks, Lance," Justin said softly, sitting down and taking JC
back into his arms. He carefully lay back on the bed, keeping a hold on
JC, who had fallen asleep at some point during the movie. Lance made
himself a bed on the floor and lay there, looking up at Justin.
"You really love him, don't you?" Lance asked after a long
silence.
"Of course!" Justin said, giving Lance an 'are you stupid?' look.
"He's been my best friend for what, eight years now?"
"No, I mean *LOVE* him. As in more than a friend."
"What makes you say that?"
"Justin, I'm a gay man, so I SHOULD know the signs that you're in
love. Trust me- you're not treating him as just a friend."
"I'm not gay!"
"I never said you were. I said you were in love with JC. Being in
love with another man doesn't necessarily make you gay. Joey's not gay."
"What is he then- a lesbian?" Despite themselves, they both
laughed at Justin's statement before sobering up again.
"Funny, Justin. No, I think he defines himself as more 'bisexual'.
I've seen him looking at women- I can accept that. I've also noticed you
noticing women, but you notice Josh more." Lance sounded so matter-of-fact
that Justin stopped protesting and sighed.
"It's hard, you know," Justin finally said, looking fondly at the
man in his arms. "I can't remember when I first realized I loved him. But
I never thought he would return my feelings, which is why I never told him.
I *still* don't think he'll ever return my feelings. So I don't plan on
telling him anytime soon."
"You should. I think you'll be surprised."
"Lance, the last thing Josh needs right now is to hear THAT."
"Justin, what Josh needs is love. You can give that to him, along
with the support you've been giving him all along. Give your feelings a
chance."
"That's easy for you to say! YOU'RE not the one risking an
eight-year friendship on a crush."
"No, but I think you'd be risking more if you don't tell him."
"Can we not talk about this?" Justin pleaded. "I just want to
forget this whole day ever happened."
"It's not that easy," Lance said bitterly. "Trust me."
"God, I'm sorry! I never even thought about how this would affect
you!" Justin cried. Lance smiled at him gently, silently telling him that
it was alright.
"He's been arrested, and the police have more than enough evidence
to put him away for a while. That at least offers some comfort. It will
take a lot of time for both me and Josh to get over it, but if you guys
keep on supporting us like this, it will make things a lot easier."
"But how are *you* dealing with all this?" Justin asked. Lance
paused, thinking carefully before he responded.
"Joey's been my rock, but even rocks crack sometimes," Lance
finally said. "I think Joey needs some therapy himself, but he won't
listen to me. We're kinda going downhill right now, but all relationships
go through this at some point."
"Rape affects everyone," Justin said knowingly and Lance nodded.
"Yeah, but Joey thinks I'm a fragile piece of glass that needs to
be protected at all costs. It drives me crazy, but at least I know he
cares."
"You guys are so lucky." Justin's voice was wistful. Lance gave
him a 'look' and Justin laughed. "I know, I know. After what we just
talked about, I guess I should put up or shut up." Lance didn't say
anything, merely nodded, but Justin understood perfectly. Bidding each
other 'good night', the two of them curled up in their respective beds-
Lance on the floor, and Justin with JC. Justin fell asleep almost
immediately, but Lance stayed awake for a while longer, thinking. Just
before he fell asleep himself, he glanced up at the bed and saw JC's bright
blue eyes staring back at him, filled with tears and wide with the shock of
what he had just overheard.